Mechanism for operating special needles in knitting-machines.



"No. 860,868. PATBNTED JULY 23, 1907.

E. A. HIRNBR. MECHANISM FOR OPERATING SPEGIAL NEEDLES IN KNl'TTING MACHINES.

APPLIGATION IILBD JULY 5, 1901.

4 BHEiETS-SHEET 1.

1 3M; myENTo E' j PATENTED JULY 23, 1907.

E. A. HIRNER. VIECHANISM FOR OPERATING SPECIAL NEEDLES IN KNITTING MACHINES.

APPLICATION FILED JULY5,1901.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

QN WONLN a NVENTOR} WITNESSES:

- No: 860,868. PATENTED JULY 23, 1901.

E. A. HIRNER. MECHANISM EoE GPERATING SPECIAL NEEDLES IN KNITTING MACHINES.

AEELIOATIGN EILEI) JULY 5, 1901.

I 4 EIIEET$-SEEET 3.

WITNESSES. INVENTO'FQ,

PATENTED JULY 23, 1907.

E. A. HIRNER. MECHANISM FOR OPERATING SPECIAL NEEDLES IN KNITTINGMAGHIN PLIOA'IION FILED JULY 5, 1901.

4 SHBETS-SHEET 4.

INVENITORQV EMIL A. I' IRNEl t, Ol ALLENTOWN, PENNSYLVANlA.

MECHANISM FOR OPERATING SPECIAL NEEDLES IN KNITTING-MACHINES.

I Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 23,- 1907.

Application filed July 5,1901. Serial No. 67,113.

To all whom it may concern:

lie-it known that I, Erin. JLlIIBNEli, a citizen oi the United States, residing at Alhmtown, in the county of Lehigh and State of Pcnnsylvania, have invented ccr tain new and useful Mechanism for Operating Special 'Needlcs in Knitting-Machines, whereof the following is a specification, reference being'liad to the accompanying drinvings.

In many varietie: oi knitting it is necessary to cause certain of the needles to perform different movements and, therefore, different operations from the others. Usually these needlcs are called upon to produce a special form of stitch, while theotherscontinue to produce plain knitting, and I will therefore distinguish themfronr the other needles by using the phrase rape; ciul needles. They maybe interspersed among the others singly or by groups. The operations which they may perfoizm'nre various. For example, in the .tl'iese needles during that portion of their course when they operate differently from the others. 7

Mypresent invention relates to certainnovel mechanism whereby accomplish the separation and the separate opferatipiipi the special needles by very simple means. I; v

My invention also relates to the use and arrangement of the paired'knitting CZL IIISOf a stocking lcnitter in connection with the separation and the separate operation of the special needles. I I

My invention also relates to the/operation of the special needles to produce open work in hosieryQonother vertical stripes, with provision of means whereby the open work or other stripe ma y he succeeded byplain knitting at any point of tin, knitting, as for example in knitting the back of the leg, oi a stocking with open worloor st1-ipes,'wl1ile the heel, sole and too are of'plain knitting/usshown in my Patent No. 699,954, dated May 15th, -1 902.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1, is it plan view ofthe knitting and earn cylinders of an ordinary stocking knitter, embodying my invention. Figs. 2, and 3, are side elevations, respectively, of a plain and special needle. Fig. 4, is an alternative way of l'orming the butt-of the special needle. Fig. 5, is a partial horizontal section of a cam cylinder showing, in situ, the switch-cam and special draw-down cam. Fig. 6,

o posite direction.

is an elevutioiial view of these cums. Fig. 7 is an enlargement of the vertical section 7. 7, Fig. 5, with the hookcd butt of a. special needle in engagement with the cams. Fig. 8, is a similar enlargement of the vertical section 8, S, Fig: 5, Fig. 9, is a similar enlargement of the vertical section 9, 9, Fig. 5, viewed in the Fig. 10, is a diagrammatic view of the interior of a. cam cyl nder extended in a plane, I

with the successive positions of both classes ofneedlcs, as they come under the influence of the cams, indicated thereon, the cams .and needles being arranged in this case for the production of a. longitudinal open work stripe? Fig. 11, is a similar diagram with stitch at certain intervals. Fig. 12, is a partial horizontal section of a cam cylinder l'itted with a modified form of switch cam employed in conjunction with the special needle otFig. 4. Fig. 13, is a diagrammatic in terior view. Fig. 14, is an enlarged elevational view of the same. Fig. 15, is a plan view of the essential parts 0i a stocking knitter' (the needle cylinder being omitted), showing the relation of the parts employed in my invention to the ordinary parts of such a knitting machine. Fig. 16, is a partial sectional view along the line 16, 16, Fig. 15, showing the constructimi of the jac lc cam. p 4

Referring to the stocking knitter shown in Fig. 15,

- the cams arranged for the production of a draw or tuck it will be observed that the cam cylinder isconnected by bevel gearing with a shaft by which it maybe either r1 dated or reciprocated- I have shown a handle whereby this may be accomplished manually, but it is preferably accomplished by any of the known meehanisms provided in automatic stocking-knitters..

The cam cylinder is fitted with a thread carrier, Q, and on its interior with needle grooves, within which is i'nterposed'a set of recimocatory knitting came,

as'nvill be hereafter more particularly described. The

needle, cylinder is fitted with ordinary lat-eh needles, consisting of plain .needli-s, among which neT-dles may be inters wrsed.

The plain needles are of the ordinary construction" shown in'Fig. 2. .The special needles shown in Fig." fl, differ from theseplain needles in that the part b'e-' 1 low the butt, and also part of the lower side of the butt itself, is cut or broken away, leaving the butt to terminate in the form of a curvedhook. I will now describe the, mechanism employed by me to separato or divert these special-needles, which during upon the particular sort of knitting machine to which the inventionis applied. V A cam plate A is placedon the inside of the cam cylinder after the manner of ordinary knitting Cams, at the point where it is desired that the course of the special needles shall deviate lroln the ordinary cam groove, the upper edge of this cam plate being arranged to form part of the lower side of this groove. The upper and operative surface of this cam plate consists of three portions, (see Fig. 6), a slight rise a, a level a and a long descent a'-. Along the top of this cam plate, chiefly coincident with the level a, is cuta horizontal channel or groove 1), which occupies only that .side of the plate which is farthest from the needle cylinder, and therefore adjacent to the wall oi the cam cylinder, (which for convenience may be termed the outer side of the 'rlate), and which nowhere breaks the inner wall 0. the cam plate. The inner edge of this cliannel'is deflected acrossto the outer side of the plate, thusforining a cam-incline b, which differs from all the ordinary needle cams of a knitting ma chine in thatit exerts its force alon the lin c oi a radius of the knitting cylinders. Opposite lhc cam incline, b the wall of the cam cylinder has a corresponding horizontal groove I)", cut in it.

Outside of com plate A, there is inserted in the wall of the 'cam cylinderit cam plate 0, which 1 term a. special draw-down cam. its shape will be best 'understood from its illustration in Figs. 5 to 9. Its inner su'rlac'e has an iinrlincd'channel 0, cut into it, corresponding in position to the descent a-, or cam plate A, and so arranged in reference to it that the descent n'-, comes opposite about the medianhnc ol the channel-c. 'l he upper edge of this channel iorms acani incline c, which partially overhangs the upper edge oicain plate A, as soon in Figs. 5, and '7.

The operation 01' the mechanism thus described is as iollowsz he line or circle of the butts oi the needles. consisting oi'plainneedles having interspersed among them special noodles with hooked butt s (Fig. 3), run-along the cam groove oi the cam cylinder until they reach the rise n, of the switch cam. Ordinarily, it is true, the needles are supported lixedly in the machine audit is the cam groove which rotates in the opposite direction but it is much more convenient to consider onlythc relative motion of these parts,

and to think oithe cam cylinder as stationary and the needle butts as running in the groove, andl will con'scqucntlyv employthis phrast' blogy. when the butts oi the plainneedlcsreach the cam plate A. they ride up the rise a, to the lct cl 11, and then pass on without further interference, tor the special drawdowncam C, does .not project far enough to reach or affect them, as will be best seen by obscrving their relative positions in- Fig. 1. when the butts of the special needles reach the switch cam, the downwardly projeeting hookat the end of the butt enters the channel":'b, whereupon the flat or cut edge of this hook is immediately brought into contact with com incline bpso that the-needle, instcadoi being elevated by rise. e, is drawn out radially-a short rlistanc e. against the tension of the needle band into the position first of 8, and then oi'Ei 7 ,the end of the butt being thusgradually: drawn into the channel c', of cani plato C. Assoon as the upper edge of the butt coines'into contactith the overhanging cam incline c, it is compelled to down it, disengagement oi the butt fronitll'e channel 1;, being in the meantime prevented by the upper-edge of the descent a of cam plate, A.

which projects part way' over the channel. The spepressed a corresponding distance. The separation or sorting of plain from special needles thus effected may then be taken advantage ol' to further deflect by other cams these needles from each other and to cause them to go through such separate operations as may be desired.

.-\s has been already stated, much yariation in the details of the construction of this cam may occur without departing from the principle of opt-"ation which I have explained. Thus, for -example, it is plain that the li ook ol the butt instead of being turned down as in Fig. 3, may he turned up, as in Fig. 4. In this case the arrangement of the cam inclines will differ, and may he as shown in Figs. 12, 13, and 14, in which the s atoll cam T, is furnished with a'descent 'v, the level '1), the second descent 1: and the deflected channel t, by which the butts ofthe special needles are drawn out radially and depressed to-the extent of the second descent n while the ordinary needles pass the cam with, only the slight depression of the descent '0. c

Having thus described the separation of the special l'roni the plain needles, I will now describe how such or other known sorting mechanism may be rendered useful in stocking knitters ol the ordinary construction,- tor the purpose oi producing different kinds of striped, patterned or figured knitting, witlrlittle change or rearrangement of the ordinary knitting cams found in thcsemachines, For this purpose'I will firstdesor ibe the applieation oi-my switch corn to an ordinarystocking .knitter for the purpose of" producing a stocking having open work stripes down the back as well as the front of the leg. Such a stocking I have described in United States Letters Patent No. 699,954, granted to inennder date of May 13th, 1902. I have also therein described the method of knitting employed in making;

it in sodar as it is independent oi the mechanism or actuating the needles. It is this latter mechanism which l will now proceed to describe, with'the e x planationlhat the special needles whichareemployed to form the open work stripe down the back of the leg of the stocking. and which inay be situ ted at any desired internals. among the plain n eedles, must, after having been advanced sulliciently to throw-the--loop which each carries below the latch, be caused to shed the loop before it canzidvancc to take' new thread; In this way they are prevented from knitting;- althoughthcy i take thread along with the rest of the needles aiiddiit out as much as would he rcqiiired to forma stitch.

Referring now to Fig. '10; A, isihe return or feud cainfl of the construction already described. It will be observed that it is in the position of the ordinary leithand end cam oi the ho itterand that its cant surface (1 serves the itlnctinn of such a cam. B, is a guard cam opposing the level n, of the cam A. It may also be conveniently used, -as a pull down cain to lower the needles after knit-ting a heel or toe pocket, whencon:

trolled by proper mechanism. 0, is the special drawdown cam, which IlmVE already'de'scribed to bee-m ployed with my hooked butt special needles, and which respectively left and right guard cams.

se ans differs from the rest of the cam plates in being placed J, and K, are, for the purposes of the present descriptioii, only guard cams, although they may conveniently be used in conjunction with other mechanism, at the commencement of the formation ol' the heel and toe pockets, as needle raising cams. L, is a special shedding cam for which M, is the corresponding depressing cam. N, is a special jack cam, which must be provided with mechanism, either manual or automatic, whereby at the proper point in the operation of the machineit may be raised or lowered, it being in action when raised and out action when lowered. As shown in Fig. 16, the operation of this jack cam is effectedmanually, by means of the spring pressed pin n. The means for narrowing and widening the back of the tube for-the formation of the heel and toe pockets in the stocking may be of the type'patented by me in my Patent of March 22nd, 1892, No. 471,220, or of any other known type of automatic. picker mechanism. The dotted lines 2, z, z, 2; indicate the positions of open work stripes down the front of the leg of the stock- 1 ing, where the open Work is continuous, the mere omission of needles is sutlicient, and have consequently indicatedsuch omissions in that part of the needle cylinder which to knit the front of the stocking, but this forms no part oimy present invention.

The plain needles which perform only ordinary knitting pursue, duringthe rotation of the cam cylinder for the formation of the leg of a stocking, the ordinary knitting path, their motions being indicated by the line of the tops ofthc needlesas seen in Fig. 10. The rise a, which corresponds to the similarly lettered rise of (am plate A, has no significance in the knitting operation. A further-rise d, is effected by the upper surface of the left-hand stitch cam D, whereby the needles receive their full advance preparatory to talring thread for a new loop. The descent of the needles along h, and a, is accomplished by center cam H, and right-hand stitch.

- ,1 cam E, the reception or thread occurring (luring the descent c. At 'ne bottom of this descent, the latch oi the needle is closed over the new thread and the old loop is shed ovl-r the hook ol' the needle. Thcrcupon the needles risc along 0, undpr the iniiuonceot the right-hand return or end cam E, to the normal level, the new loop being still held upon the latch oi the necdlc. Under the influence of cams L, and M, a temponeedle butts.

rary rise l, and descent m, is accomplished, whereby the loop is thrown below the latch oithc needle, whoreupon the operation begins to repeat itself.

The operation of the special needles, where they doviate from the rest, is indicated by the dotted line y, y, and is as follows: Instead oi the rise a, these nc'cdlcs are drawn down by car is C, and D, as indicated at c,

(1; at the bottom of the descent d, the loop which they carry is shed, thereupon, under the inlluence oi' the It bottom center-cam 1, they accomplish the rise t: will be seen that the top of cam I, is-rcduccd more than is usually the case. This is in order that its height may bc accuratcl y adjusted to deliver the special neecease to operate as such, but shall move as do the plain needles, so as-to change the open work at the back of the tube to plain knitting. This is accomplished by raising the jack cam N, by means of which all of the needles, special and plain are sufficiently raised before they meet the cam plate A to clear the rise a, of the cam, so that thereafter the hooks'oi the special needles do not fall into the groove b, and are not drawn out into contact with the cam C. By again lowering the jack cam, at the proper point, the cam A, may be again caused to resume its function of sorting the special needles from the plain needles. In this way the jack cam N, controls the operation of the sorting mechanism, so that the separation of the needles for the formation of open work may be caused to begin and end as desiredduring the knitting of a stocking It is peculiarity of the switch mechanism which I have just described that even though, as a result of these transition movements, some of the butts ol the special needles be left in an intermediate position (i. a. so that they will meet the rise a, part way up), there can be no uncertainty in the operation of the switch and n9 jamming of the The upper edge of the cam incline b, is slightly curved off, (as seen in Fig. 8), so that'a'ny butt, no lIlitlJtOl VJllkLl; its position may have been as it approached rise a, is either held by incline 1/, and I drawn under cam C, onelse has slipped off the switch cam and is entirely out of reach of cam C, before the cam is reached.

For the formation of thc heel and too pockets it is necessary that the cam cylinder should be rcciprocated instead of rotated, and thc automatic pickers put in action. It will be noticed that when the cam cylinder moves to the right the left-hand stitch cam D, is the operative knitting cam, and thc'caln plate A, serves its usual function as the 0nd cam which advances the noodles after they have shed their loops. Itwill therelore be soon that inthc arrangement thus described, instead of inserting a special groove, into the cain cyl:

indcr or the purpose oi imparting the necessary spccial motion to the special needles, I am able tocn ploy in connection with their operation the groove undcr the stitch cams, the ordinary needles passing over the leading stitch cam in.tho usual way, while the special needles are diverted into the groove below the following stitch cam without passing ot er or being advanced by the leading stitch cam.

I will nslxt describe the application of my invention to an ordinary stocking knitter for the purpose of producing a stoekingfwith a figured effect, such as may be produced by the use of various special stitches, at proper intervals. Such a stocking for example, I have described in United 'States Letters Patent No. 698,499,

granted to me under date of April 29th, 190?. For the purpose of producing such a fabric or stocking, it is necessary that at proper intervals around the knitting cylinder there be special needles which are capable ol making tuck stitches, or other special stitches, instead of the ordinary stitches, and it is also necessary that the operation of these special needles'shnll he so controlled that in regular alternation, they shall operate specially for a predetermined number of courses (usually not more than three or four at a time), and then for a pro determined number of succeeding courses proceed to knit as do the plain needles.

Referring now to Fig. .11, I have there shown the method ot"arrangementof the cams of an ordinary/stocking knitter with the insertion ol my-switch cam suitable forthe production of a figured stocking of this sort, It will he observed that there are l8 special needles 3, at interva s artilind the needle cylinder. It will also be obseni'e; that the arrangmuent of the cams is in all rospects i epttcal with that of Fig/l0, previously descl ihed, Titept that cams l1, and M,arc entirely omit ted, and that the bottom center cold I, is of a different shape. As shown, this cum I; is of the ordinary shape for plai p knitting, instead of having its'np'per edge reduced, its iii Fig. it); but it may be omitted altogether. The former alternative is ltStlt'ttWlQlU when a tuck stitch is to be prodln'ed, and the latter when a diaw stitch. 'lbe reasmrfor the omission of shedding cam, L, and its counterpart M, isthat in this instance the loops upon tlnlspecial needles must not be thrown below the'latch prior to the operation oi'the stitch cam. As far as the movements of the plain needles are concerned, they are the same as before and need not. be do scribed, except that the throwing ol' the loop below the needle latch does not here occur nntil the needle is advanced by the upper surface of the leading Still 1 cam. The special needles, under the control of the cam plate A, and the special draw-down cam .(J, with'tho loop still within the latch, pass down below the stitph cam D, where, by reason of the loop being Within the latch,

, instead of shedding it, they simply retain it. .lf now,

a tuck stitch is to be prod uccd, the ram 1, is used. The

needle with its loop thereupon advances along the ascent if, and is by it returned into line with its fellows bcloro thread is led into them, so that it receives new thread with the rest, the only difference being that not having shed its loop, each special needle now carries twothrcads instead ot' one within its hook. it the tuck is to occupy three or {our courses this operation continues during as many rotations of the machine, until three. or four threads have thus been laid within the hook of the special needle. Thereupon, jack cam N,

must he rais d, (and if a spot-hilly figured pattern is to be thus prodtn-ctl the opt-ration of this canrwill be placed under the control of suitable automatic mechanism). ly raising this cam the special needcls are thrown above the line of the influence of the separating means so that during the next course they knit as do the others with the result that on reaching the rise (1', they throw all of the loops which they carry below their latch and then alter receiving new loop, shed all the "old'loops at once forming the ordinary tuck stitch.

Where, instead of a tuck stitch, a draw stitch is to be produced, with the Yar'ation'ot' the stitch which has .beenreferred to in the applicationlast mentioned; cam I, is altogether omitted. The result is. that the special needles depressed by cam and still holding a loop within their hooks, remain depressed, their butts put suing the path of dotted line '5, (Fig. 11), until after the 30 new thread has been led between the adjacent plain needles. As a result this latter thread is laid across the spacd occupied by the special needles, which on reaching the end cam (l, are raised to the normal level sun carrying the loop first mentioned, so that thesuccceding 1 35 thread is shed across the space which they occi py without being knit. As long as the jack cam 1 l, is depressed, this continues. When at the end of a predeter-' mined number of courses, the stitch operating jack cam N, is a'gainnrised, the special needles take their place in the operation with the plain needles, so'that the new thread, instetul of being interlrnit. by thespccial nee dles with the loops oi the course immediately precedi ng,i$ by them inter-looped with that course, separatt from it, it may he, by an interval of several courses,

which was the last course of plain knitting before the special tniedlos were caused to operate spricially. v

It will be observed that in all of the fbrms ofmy in ventitin which I have described a IliOttIlt! for separating or sorting the needles is employed in connection with we the ordinary paired stitch cams ofa stocking knitter, and in such relation to them that the separatitm occurs as they reach the leading st-itclrealn over which some of the needles pass while others do not... This part oi my invention is independent of gtho nature of those needles, or the means employed for effecting their initial separation. For this reason the phrase "special needles as itoccurs in the cla'ms is to be construed as designating needles which perlorzn special functions in the knitting, and not as lcsignating any special construction of the needle itself. lly thusplacing a sorting means at the point where the needles reach the. leading stitch cam, whereby some of the needles are advanced over camto take thread, whilenthers are not so advanced, it is obvious that it is possihle to 'produce a great variety of striped or figured hosiery; and this is accomplished without interference with the reciprocatory action of the knitting cams or otherwise complicating the mechanism which must he cempressed within the limited cam groove of a stocking knitter. Andby mcans'of the jack cam N, 'or similar; nnw.-hanisn1 the control of the sorting mechanism as to wln-n'its operation is to begin or end is complete. ()hviously inthe knitting of hosiery it is usually necessary that any striped effect should cease during the rociprocation of the machine for the production of the heel andtoe pockets, and this is readily accomplished by this cam. To simplify the phrascology of the claims, I will in those which have reierence to the particular form of groovwbelow'thc following stitch 'cam without penning over the leading stitch com.

ii-i. In t stocking iguitter' provided with reclprocutorf knitting-cums, moanswhereby certain of the needles are advanced by the leading stitch can: in the usualuway; meanswlierchy the rest. of the needles are led into the groove below, i'hefollowing stitch cum without such'ud- Vance and menus whereby all ot'the needles maywhen de- 16. In a circular Ltting machine having independent needles, and means for uni-rowing and widening the back 0! the knit tube, means for knitting upen work and plain knitting at nny point around said tube and means for changing the open work on the hack of the tube to plain knitting.

17. In a circular knitting machine having independent needles, cam mechanism to cooperate with a l of mid needies, to produce tuhuhuwork, to cooperate with ouch 11cc die ot n continuous portion of said needles to form not:- i'owcd and widened fabric, audio operate certain needles of said portion without causing them to knit, thereby forming drop stitch work.

RMIL A. illltNiGlL 'llncsscs .hnms II. BELL,

(L ihmmmun Finihm'. 

